The night was cold, and everything had sunk down, retreating into darkness.
Ju Nanyi, however, couldn’t sleep, and mories continued to accumulate in his mind—though they were trivial things unrelated to the course of life, they slowly drew out the ordinary days of their newlywed bliss.
These mories in Ju Nanyi’s mind were so real that everything happening now seed false, like Zhuangzi’s absurd dream of the butterfly, making him feel that he was actually dreaming now.
"Commandery, Commandery Princess—," Yu Yuan, who had had enough sleep the past few days, couldn’t fall asleep and was practicing boxing in the courtyard when he suddenly didn’t know whether to dodge or what to do; he picked up his sweatshirt from the ground and, without caring for the dust, imdiately draped it over himself.
Ju Nanyi imdiately sat up from the bed, and although movent still caused him pain, he tried his best not to appear disheveled.
Zheng Nianru had already co in, and Ju Nanyi was sowhat unclear about her purpose for visiting.
As Zheng Nianru stood still, she realized her abruptness. Yet, given the profound and instructive downfall of the previous generation, Zheng Nianru couldn’t help but be cautious, at least in this lifeti. She couldn’t guarantee other things, but she was confident in maintaining her distance from Ju Nanyi.
"Lord Ju, I heard that you are leaving the Prince’s Mansion tomorrow," Zheng Nianru began.
Ju Nanyi was silent, tacitly confirming what Zheng Nianru had said. So, he had co to say goodbye, yet he couldn’t feel happy about it.
The woman before him beca familiar because of the mories, and Ju Nanyi naturally knew that the girl’s current deanor hadn’t caught his attention; when she had you in her eyes, she didn’t look this way, she would gaze deeply at you, even if not looking right at you, the leisurely aura emitted from her would lift your spirits from the depths of your heart.
So, in Zheng Nianru’s eyes now, there was no trace of him; Ju Nanyi also knew that before their marriage, he had not had much interaction with her, it was only later that he had played so tricks to make her notice him.
Zheng Nianru glanced at Fu Dong, who imdiately stepped forward, offering up the items on the tray she was holding.
"Lord Ju, this is our Commandery Princess’s gratitude gift, thanking you for saving her life," Fu Dong spoke as she presented the tray, which held remarkable paperweights and inkstones, all recognizable to Ju Nanyi as collections from Prince Duan.
"Thank you, Commandery Princess," Ju Nanyi’s tone was gentle, knowing he mustn’t be hasty. If he could strategize in his past life, he naturally could in this one too.
Prince Duan favored him, and with this unique connection from his past life, it would be easier to start from there.
"In that case, I won’t disturb your rest anymore," The Commandery Princess didn’t need to ask openly; Prince Duan’s fondness for Ju Nanyi had continued from the past life into this one without any decline. Thus, it wasn’t excluded that this was Prince Duan’s own intention, nor that Ju Nanyi had implied sothing in front of Prince Duan.
Zheng Nianru suddenly turned her head.
"I wonder if you have heard about the Commandery Princess calling off her engagent with Heir Zong?" Zheng Nianru asked.
Fu Dong was startled, sowhat unsure why the Commandery Princess suddenly asked this, particularly since the Monarch was still unmarried. It seed rather improper to ask about a broken engagent.
Even if the Prince had this intention today, the Commandery Princess shouldn’t have asked so openly.
Ju Nanyi looked up in surprise, his joy surfacing montarily at the ntion, but upon eting Zheng Nianru’s stern gaze, it quickly cooled.
"Sir, I heard a couple of words from the Prince," Ju Nanyi began.
Zheng Nianru realized, indeed it was her father who had probed the matter.
"Lord Ju might feel that this Commandery Princess has been abrupt, but in truth, it is my father who is troubled by this matter. Heir Zong is truly not a suitable match, yet there are entanglents involved..."
Ju Nanyi did not know why Zheng Nianru would say such things, and moreover, with such cold indifference in her gaze, as if she were looking at re ants, he understood that he was not in her consideration. This must an that Prince Duan was the one troubled by this matter.
"I have spoken with the Prince, and the key to this problem lies with Mage Yu Sheng," Ju Nanyi spoke; he had said this to Prince Duan, who perhaps had his thoughts and thus had not shared his thinking with her.
Zheng Nianru decided not to leave. Her aim was not really about calling off the engagent, but to advance a step further, revealing a young daughter’s timidity and bashfulness, she sighed softly.
"Lord Ju truly is a man of thorough understanding, a single na makes the matter much simpler. This engagent is not easy to call off, I just hope the Empress Dowager does not issue any more rash decrees, after all, such an engagent seeks mutual affection, do you not agree, Lord Ju?" Zheng Nianru’s voice was sweet, a change from her previous coldness, as if she was speaking to her closest confidante.
Fu Dong found it all suddenly strange, was the Commandery Princess speaking to Lord Ju?
But why didn’t it seem like it?
Ju Nanyi’s heart suddenly tightened. Zheng Nianru’s words hit him like a hamr, forcing him to acknowledge a reality he had never wanted to accept, from start to finish, that she had soone she liked, and that it was never him.
Ju Nanyi did not want to listen anymore, not a single word; all his self-deception seed to be harshly slapped onto his face.
From the mont they married, from her ever-ready-to-turn mood, he was always cautious and observant, but he could see through it. He always excused it by saying that she was a princess, naturally capricious.
Zheng Nianru quietly watched Ju Nanyi, who was clever, able to understand many things she could not, even the oblivious matters, but Ju Nanyi understood them.
Thus, in the end, she was sure Ju Nanyi knew about Zheng Congyuan, which was why he acted. Even though on the surface, his actions were flawless, without any evidence pointing to him.
But the only thing Zheng Nianru believed in was her intuition. She was not clever, nor could she see through or understand many issues, but she just knew, Ju Nanyi must have known.
Therefore, in this lifeti, why not let him know early? After all, she never thought of using the power in Ju Nanyi’s hands to do anything. Therefore, cutting ties now is the best thod.
Zheng Nianru looked at Ju Nanyi, like a simple-minded young girl, hiding a small secret in her heart, afraid to speak too plainly, yet unable to conceal it completely, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she was just thinking about her little secret.
Ju Nanyi was confused whether she was still waiting for his response. In a mont, he did not know how to begin, but instead wondered why she would ask him. Was it because he had saved her? Thus, she regarded him as soone she could confide in?
"Commandery Princess, I, I do not know," Ju Nanyi answered, uttering just a few words.
Fu Dong looked at her commandery princess perplexedly. Had their princess gone mad, discussing such matters with a man? After hearing her words, Fu Dong almost dropped the tray she was holding, overwheld by a sense of doom that the princess might reveal the Crown Prince’s shocking secret.
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